EV charging goes open-source

2012-07-25 09:28

Charge Your Car Limited, an electric-car charging company, wants to present its plans for the UK’s largest pay-as-you-go, open source network of public charging stations.

Claiming to be the first national network open to all EV drivers, charge point hosts and network operators, and charge point manufacturers in the UK, at the annual LCV2012, Charge Your Car will outline how an open source approach to the creation and management of EV recharging infrastructure will facilitate the mass uptake of EVs.

ONE CONTACT POINT

Alexandra Prescott, operations manager at Charge Your Car, said: “The UK has multiple regional networks of charge points in closed membership schemes, which is delaying the adoption of electric vehicles in the UK.

“Most EV drivers charge at home overnight, so the public network is for topping up and extended-range journeys. We know from research that EV drivers want to be able to access charging infrastructure in the same way as they buy petrol or park their car: pay-as-you-go, without joining membership schemes or paying a monthly subscription,” Prescott concluded.

The company hopes to expand its current network of 400 public access charge points to 10 000 pay-as-you-go charge points across the UK.

“The new service will be fully operational by next year (2013),” Prescott explained.